


Everything

by Jaseish (Kymopoleia)



Category: LoliRock (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Halphas Headcanon, Post Season 2, Season 2 spoilers, levalia on the downlow, lowkey levalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-30 23:18:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kymopoleia/pseuds/Jaseish
Summary: "I love you.""That's okay."





	Everything

**Author's Note:**

> warning: i haven't written coherent things in a while so idk what this is

Iris closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, sighing softly.

It hadnt been so long ago that they last met, that they last shared breaths, that they last leaned into each other's spaces and pretended that everything would be fine.

'Did you miss me?' His words trail over her skin like fresh tears, and her bottom lip wobbles.

"I did."

'Prax?'

"Can't stand not having you around."

'...'

She can sense the hesitation, the pause, even if there's no other indication. Sometimes a lack of something is as troubling as the presence of something terrible, but in this case iris... would have preferred something.

She leans back.

He's so beautiful.

Even covered in blood, bottom lip split, eyes haunted, she'd have given anything to see him again.

And now here he is.

He bends and presses cracked lips to her forehead, her eyes sinking closed again.

"What do I do?"

'Iris?'

"I..." tears bubble up at the corners of her own eyes. "How do I do this? What do you want me to do?"

'You're a Halphas.' He whispers and smoothes her hair out. 'You'll figure something out.'

The door to the basement opens and his image dissolves, a sob hiccoughing its way out of her.

"Iris?" Talia rested a hand on her back. "Are you okay?"

Iris bit her tongue. What to do, what to say.

Mephisto was dead.

He'd first started appearing when she was injured, when she was tired, when she was alone. Flickers at first, like the butterflies, almost tricks of the mind.

But then he'd stayed longer.

Whispered praise and suggestions in her ear. Pressed kisses like ladybug taps to the back of her neck, ghosted his fingers down her side.

She was addicted to it.

The last time she'd had this there'd been a thrill, now there was only an ache.

She cracks a smile for her friend

"I'm fine."

She's in the library when he next appears, his lips behind her ear and his fingers on the bare skin beneath her tank top, the fabric inching up at his urging.

'What are you doing?'

Iris cracks a smile and tucks some of her hair behind her ear, the book open before her.

"I'm figuring this out."

She can hear the smile in his voice as he purrs out a 'Good.' and rests his chin on her shoulder.

Before Mephisto had died, there'd been something between them. Rushed kisses when no one was looking, long glances, fighting and reveling in every strike and shared breath, whispering in the shadows where no one would think to listen in.

Before Mephisto had died, she'd been content to press her forehead to his chest, sigh, think about a world where they wouldn't have to battle constantly.

Before Mephisto had died, they'd always been a heartbeat away from being found out, a hitching breath from being berated, a hesitation away from being permanently separated.

If asked, Iris wouldn't even be able to tell how it had happened.

All she knew was that she loved the way his lips felt against hers, that she was enamored with the way his gloved hands cupped her hips, the way every part of him made every part of her sing.

She flips the page.

"Tell me again, your favorite thing." Iris says absentmindedly as she traces a finger down the book's feathered pages, soft with age.

'You.'

She smiles to herself.

"No, really."

He hums. 'Hurleybeast steak on a cold morning, Prax when she isn't mad.'

Ephedian isn't easy for her to read, but she nods slowly.

'Your hair when you've just woken up, before a brush has been taken to it.'

Just when it gets interesting, a splotch of ink has ruined the page, long since dried, the only legible words being 'Amontillado's Diary'.

'Your fave when you're concentrating.'

Iris turns her head to look at him. "What's Amontillado's Diary?"

He blinks.

'I haven't heard those words in a long time...' He hums, trailing his fingers over the book page before her. 'Amontillado...'

She turns a bit, carding her fingers through his hair. It leaves her hand feeling cold, but he leans into the touch.

'She was a sorcereress, like Gramorr, like Morgaine. Her father was famous for murder, and she took the family name even further.' He cracked a smile. 'You could even say that she surpassed her father.'

"So she was evil?" Iris glanced back at the words. "What does her diary have to do with anything?"

'It holds the secrets to everything she knew. But she was executed by the Xerin Royalty of the time, and no one has seen it since she...' He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. 'I will spare you the details, princess.'

Iris hummed. "Xerins?"

'Yes. If I had to guess, I'd suggest asking your friend for it.'

The princess bit her lip. She didn't want to ask anything, especially because it would only cause suspicion. Besides, if Amontillado was such a powerful dark sorceress, the other princesses wouldn't even want her to see it.

'What do you think her diary will do for my situation?' Mephisto asks, softly.

She glances at him, the faded blood on his half-invisible body, the haunted eyes.

"Everything."

He smooths her hair down, pressing his lips to her forehead again.

'I trust you.'

With that, he disappears again.

It's not long before Iris has to rejoin the girls, practice for their concert coming up, do something other than think about her dead boyfriend and how to get Praxina off their backs, how to fix what she'd messed up when they defeated Gramorr.

Talia is still concerned, Iris can tell. Auriana is nowhere to be seen, and that wouldn't be so terrible if they didn't need her.

"Auriana!" Iris calls, cupping her hands around her mouth as they head up the stairs. "Where are you?"

Talia, just behind her, is tense.

The blonde reaches the top of the stairs and heads for the Voltan's room. "Auriana?"

"She isn't here."

Iris turns to look at the brunette. "What?"

"I said she isn't here."

Iris frowns. "Then where is she? What's she doing?"

Talia sighs and leans against the wall. "Iris, we need to have a talk."

For a moment, nothing makes sense. And then things click.

"You told her to get out of the house, didn't you?" She can't find it in herself to be angry.

"I did."

Iris rubs her temples. "So you could talk to me alone, right?"

"Iris, I'm worried about you."

The blonde sighs. "Is this really necessary?"

"You've got bags under your eyes, Iris. I come into rooms and find you whispering to the air, and we both know that you cry yourself to sleep. I understand you've been taking Nathaniel leaving you very hard but-"

"That's what you think this is about?" Iris blurts out, disbelieving. "You're kidding me."

"Well, what else?"

"Talia, three people are dead because of me."

The other girl frowns too. "Lev wasn't your fault, Gramorr deserved it, and Mephisto..."

Iris looked away.

Talia did too.

"We couldn't have done anything."

"I should have done something."

"At what cost?"

Iris feels tears bubble up. "Everything."

A warm hand falls to her shoulder, and she can feel a second, ghostly hand rubbing her lower back reassuringly.

"Iris, you can talk to me." Talia's voice is soft, pleading. "Tell me what's going on, tell me what happened."

Lips brush Iris' ear.

She sighs.

"It's... fine. I'm going back to the library, okay?"

Talia's hand pulls back slowly, her blinking in hurt.

"Is- is this because of- did Auriana tell you?" Talia blurts out.

Iris stares at her for a moment.

"I was going to tell you, I promise, but... with everything... I didn't know how to say it."

Iris pulls her into a hug.

"Whatever it is, Talia, I'm going to trust you. But first, you have to trust me, okay?"

The other girl's face presses into her shoulder. "I should have told you..."

"And you can, I promise."

The waterfall opens slowly, and Iris takes a deep breath.

She can't afford to keep Mephisto waiting much longer. He didn't deserve this, didn't deserve these consequences for her actions. He was patient, for once, but she missed having him around. Missed his snark and his biting, fighting her and pushing her around and kissing her like he meant it.

That's what she wanted.

It's never easy to find things in Talia's hiding places, never easy to understand how she organizes them. Sometimes she spends hours combing through the library and reorganizing it, murmuring to herself and following only the rules she understood.

Not to complain, however, it was Talia's library to do with what she pleased. But sometimes Iris... had a bit of trouble.

'Use your magic.' She hears the whisper but doesn't feel him by her side, and she slowly opens up her hand, the magic casting a pink glow over the vault.

She closes her eyes, and decides to try something.

"Amontillado."

The vault echoes in response, the water behind her shuddering.

"Amontillado."

The vault creaks this time, and shreds of crystal rain down.

Iris opens her eyes, the circle burning furiously.

"Amontillado!"

A book flies into the circle, and her eyes widen. "I... wha..."

"I didn't know I could do that..." Iris touches the book's spine, and feels a shiver go up her own.

She suddenly isn't sure if this is a good idea, but then she remembers Praxina's cry as Mephisto had fallen, the way it had echoed and broken her heart.

"Mephisto..."

'I'm with you, I'm with you.' He coos, leaning into her back.

She closes her eyes, hands on the book, focusing, focusing.

"Mephisto?"

'Hm?'

"Can I do this?"

He catches her chin and presses his chapped lips against hers, feeling as if he's everywhere at once, overwhelming and too much but also not nearly enough.

'You can do anything.'

'Everything.'

She opens her eyes.

There's nothing there.

Iris steps into the library, the waterfall closing behind her.

She bites her lip and opens the book, eyes falling immediately to the page that she needed. She'd question it, but she doesn't want to. She'd find time for that later.

"Anima."

The air freezes around her.

"Anima."

"Spiro vitam."

She closes her eyes, feeling the spell start to speak in her soul, no.

"Crystem tempore."

"Quod esse solebat,"

The room begins to heat, slowly, creeping.

"Es adhuc."

"Es meus."

"Crystem revertetur!"

The heat crashed, and Iris collapsed.

A hand, burning hot, caresses her cheek.

"Iris?"

She leans into the touch. "Mephisto?"

He presses his lips to her forehead, and she feels something wet fall onto her face.

"You did it."

"You did it."

Iris, eyes still closed, crawls into his lap, allowing herself this, allowing herself this moment.

"I did it?"

He peppers her face with kisses.

"I got you."

She leans into him.

Things weren't okay yet, but maybe they'd get there.

Things weren't okay, but she had him.

"I love you." She whispers.

"That's okay."


End file.
